Hip-Hop Pioneer Jimmy Spicer Battling Advanced Brain & Lung Cancer

Pioneering rapper Jimmy Spicer has been diagnosed with advanced brain and lung cancer.

One of the first rappers to release a song on wax, the quietly influential Brooklyn rapper recorded several songs in the late '70s and early-to-mid '80s that helped lay the foundation for rappers who followed after him.

His most impactful song came In 1980, when he dropped the 15-minute-plus track, "Adventures of Super Rhymes" on Dazz Records, which became influential for the zany, storytelling rappers who followed after him, including Slick Rick and Dana Dane.

Spicer's follow-up songs, "The Bubble Bunch" and "Money (Dollar Bill Y'all)" didn't achieve the same success as "Adventures of Super Rhymes" but have been interpolated and sampled heavily by hip-hop artists, including Busta Rhymes ("Do the Bus a Bus) and Wu-Tang Clan ("C.R.E.A.M."). Spicer went on to work with hip-hop heavyweight Rick Rubin on the 1985 Def Jam single, "This Is It" and "Beat the Clock."

“Jimmy Spicer – One of the pioneers of [Hip] Hop needs our help,” Blow wrote, along with a link to Spicer's GoFundMe page.

According to his GoFundMe, Spicer is currently undergoing radiation treatment for his brain tumor but needs chemotherapy for the tumor in his lung.

“I have been diagnosed with advanced cancer,” Spicer said on his GoFundMe. “I have a tumor in my lung and a tumor in my brain. I am currently undergoing radiation therapy for the tumor in my brain. I now need chemotherapy for the tumor in my lung. Please with your help and prayers I can fight this.”